Gluten-Free Gravenstein Apple Cake
This Gluten-Free Gravenstein Apple Cake takes a trio of simple gluten-free flours and folds in fresh Gravenstein apples for a tender gluten-free apple cake. A delicious late summer treat.
Easy Gluten-Free Gravenstein Apple Cake Recipe
This gluten-free Gravenstein apple cake is packed with sweet-tart Gravenstein apples to make a rustic, just-sweet-enough dessert. A rich, tender, buttery cake, it’s unique in that it has a layer of thinly sliced apples sprinkled with cinnamon coconut sugar in the middle. Then it’s topped with another layer of vanilla-scented cake and finally finished with more apples and cinnamon.
You could claim that this cake is perfect for fall, but it’s equally wnderful in late summer and I think a cake like this could be served through mid-winter. You could also change up the spices as the year progresses — ginger or cardamom for the cinnamon would be lovely.
The flours here are three that work beautifully together: oat, almond, and tapioca (see substitutions below), with the oat flour bringing whole grain heft, the almond flour moisture, and the tapioca to balance and keep the cake from being too heavy. To make this cake dairy-free, substitute 1/2 cup coconut oil at cool room temperature for the butter and switch in coconut yogurt for the sour cream.
What You’ll Need for Gravenstein Apple Cake
Here’s an overview of the ingredients you’ll find in this recipe. The full ingredient amounts and detailed instructions are in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Sour Cream
- Vanilla extract
- Oat flour
- Almond flour
- Tapioca flour
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Sea salt
- Coconut sugar
- Cinnamon
- Gravenstein apples
How to Make Gluten-Free Gravenstein Apple Cake
I’ve outlined the steps you’ll take to bake this cake below:
- Prepare the pan. Butter a springform cake pan and line with parchment paper.
- Cream the butter and sugar. In a large bowl, using an electric or stand mixer, cream together the butter and maple sugar until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time, beating well to incorporate fully. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix until smooth.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients and add. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Keep the mixer on low and slowly add the dry mix to the batter. Mix until well combined.
- Make the sugar-cinnamon mix. In a small bowl, stir together the coconut sugar and cinnamon.
- Place the batter in the pan. Spread half of the batter in the prepared pan, smoothing it with a rubber spatula. Top the batter with one-half of the sliced apples and sprinkle with two-thirds of the coconut sugar/cinnamon. Spread the remaining batter on top, again using the spatula to smooth the top. Place the remaining apples on top and sprinkle with the remaining sugar mixture.
- Bake the cake. Preheat oven. Let the batter rest and hydrate in the pan while the oven heats. Then place the cake in the oven and bake for 55-65 minutes, checking frequently after 55 minutes. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, the top of the cake is set and slightly springs back when pressed, and the edges are pulling away from the sides of the pan. Remove from oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then turn out onto the rack to cool completely.
Tips for Success
Here are a few gluten-free baking tips and substitution suggestions that will help when you make this cake:
- Rest the batter. Let batter rest before baking. Gluten-free flours really benefit from a rest to let them absorb liquids.
- Bring the ingredients to room temperature before using. As in all baking, gluten-free baking also benefits from using room-temperature ingredients.
- To make this cake dairy-free: Substitute coconut oil for the butter. Substitute dairy-free yogurt for the sour cream.
- Oat flour substitute: Try sorghum flour.
- Almond flour substitute: Try ivory teff flour or buckwheat flour.
- Tapioca flour substitute: Try sweet white rice flour or arrowroot.
- Apple substitute: If you can’t get Gravenstein apples, try Granny Smith apples.
How to Store
The cake will keep, well wrapped in the fridge, for up to 5 days. I find it tastes best at room temperature or slightly warmed.
Gluten-Free Gravenstein Apple Cake
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup maple sugar or cane sugar
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream at room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups/140 g gluten-free oat flour
- ½ cup/70 g almond flour
- ½ cup/70 g tapioca flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp fine grain sea salt
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 lbs/16 oz. Gravenstein apples
Instructions
- Butter a springform cake pan and line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, using an electric or stand mixer, cream together the butter and maple sugar until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time, beating well to incorporate fully. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix until smooth.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Keep the mixer on low and slowly add the dry mix to the batter. Mix until well combined.
- In a small bowl, stir together the coconut sugar and cinnamon.
- Spread half of the batter in the prepared pan, smoothing it with a rubber spatula. Top the batter with one-half of the sliced apples and sprinkle with two-thirds of the coconut sugar/cinnamon. Spread the remaining batter on top, again using the spatula to smooth the top. Place the remaining apples on top and sprinkle with the remaining sugar mixture.
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Let the batter rest and hydrate in the pan while the oven heats. Then place the cake in the oven and bake for 55-65 minutes, checking frequently after 55 minutes. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, the top of the cake is set and slightly springs back when pressed, and the edges are pulling away from the sides of the pan. Remove from oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then turn out onto the rack to cool completely.
- Cake will keep, well wrapped in the fridge, for up to 5 days. I find it tastes best at room temperature or slightly warmed.